Food Vs. Fuel

1.) After following all the steps and growing as much algae as I could, I ended up with only 0.1 grams of algae

2.) Because I had such little algae biomass, I had even less lipid content. As a result, I could not do further testing.

3.) Algae is mainly comprised of fats and lipids, not sugars and carbohydrates that our boy needs to function. THerefore, algae is best utilized as a biodiesel.

From my research I have concluded two things:

1.) Algae can be grown vertically in labs, meaning ht eland usage is much lower, making algae differetn from tradiotional crops

2.) I need to grow much more algae to process it into the lipids, which I am currently working on right now.

Major companies, governments and farmers are investing their resources to produce biofuels from staple food sources. Staple foods require vast amounts of land and aditional inputs that are best used to feed t growing population.

I conclude that algae is best utilized to produce biodiesel, as it can be efficiently grown without utilizing much land.

https://www.wired.com/story/biofuels--than-petrol-environment/

https://www.btlliners.com/what-doesworse-algae-need-to-grow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Algae_biofuel

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3152439/

https://www.britannica.com/technology/biofuel

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-explained/algae-biofuel-can-pond-scum-power-plane

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/best-food-forward-are-algae-the-future-of-sustainable-nutrition

https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/follow-the-food/the-green-sludge-that-could-transform-our-diets.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9892066/#:~:text=Fortunately%2C%20algae%20accumulate%20large%20amounts,name%20a%20few%20(48).

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320067#summary

https://www.resourcewise.com/environmental-blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-biofuels

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0011916423005908#:~:text=The%20results%20obtained%20by%20investigating,in%20high%20salt%20concentration%20environments.

https://undergradsciencejournals.okstate.edu/index.php/jibi/article/view/5734

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Processing_algae

https://undergradsciencejournals.okstate.edu/index.php/jibi/article/view/5734

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Life-cycle-of-Chlorella-vulgaris-a-early-cell-growth-phase-b-late-cell-growth_fig3_365771451

https://algaeresearchsupply.com/pages/chlorella-vulgaris-and-chlorella-pyrenoidosa?srsltid=AfmBOorlv4x7H7ZNHdbG6PJI2oZ5T0nu-fV_H5Py6P4Fxm5wuKM8aq2R

https://www.anl.gov/article/biofuel-on-the-road-to-energy-cost-savings#:~:text=Results%20showed%20that%20biofuel%20combined,efficiency%20or%20reducing%20tailpipe%20emissions.

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/miles-per-gallon-of-biofuel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_content_of_biofuel

https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-arent-biofuels-more-prevalent

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19397038.2018.1536728#d1e173

https://www.medicinenet.com/12_impressive_health_benefits_of_chlorella/article.htm

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10613476/

I would like to give a huge thanks to the University of Calgary department of chemical engineering or graciously agreeing to let me colaborate with them and do work in the lab. Most, if not all of the equipment, is owned by the University of Calgary.

I would also like to acknowledge my teachers, and parents, who supported me on this journey.